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Thoughts on Upcoming CDC ACIP Meeting
Sena and I are talking about the upcoming CDC meeting on February 28th-29th next week. The agenda looks like they’ll be talking about an “additional dose” of the Covid-19 vaccine. Given the extent of vaccine fatigue going on, I tried to find a layperson-friendly article on the web about vaccine immunity with details about how…
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The Rubber Snake Trick to Scare Pesky Birds
Our porch is a favorite roosting spot for little birds. But they don’t just roost there. They leave certain things behind. So, Sena bought some rubber snakes. I think we’ll know quickly whether they work. On the other hand, experts say that you need to move them around every so often so birds don’t figure…
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High as a Kite!
We heard about the marketing of a new cannabis product in Iowa. A company called Climbing Kites makes a beverage that contains low concentration THC and it’s legal to buy it as long as the percentage of Delta 9 THC is not above 0.3%. Their website says funny things like “Fly High: All Buzz, No…
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CDC ACIP Meeting February 28-29, 2024 to Discuss Covid-19 and Other Vaccines
There are news stories about a pending CDC-ACIP meeting (February 28-29, 2024) which might include information about a CDC recommendation to possibly add a 3rd additional Covid-19 vaccine booster this spring. The Covid-19 vaccine portion of the meeting is scheduled for February 28, 2024 at 8:30 AM EST. There will be a vote at 1:55…
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New Large Covid-19 Vaccine Study Shows Association with Rare Side Effects Which Other Smaller Studies Have Found
I’ve seen a couple of news stories about the CDC supported large study across many countries which essentially shows that Covid-19 vaccines can be associated with rare side effects. The stories might tend to raise anxiety about the vaccines’ overall safety, which has been repeatedly proven in other studies. The study is published in the…
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Update on the Mason City, Iowa YWCA Renovation and How That Connects to Pizza
This is an update on a couple of Mason City, Iowa YWCA and YMCA renovation posts I wrote in May of 2022 (May 12 and May 25). I’m also going to compare the information about those with recent news about the building which is home to Pagliai’s Pizza. Recall that the YMCA in Mason City…
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Thoughts on the Mason City 1884 Civil War Statue
Sena and I got to talking about Central Park in Mason City, Iowa. I remember my brother, mother and I taking a walk there occasionally. One time we saw a man who lost his legs and who got around using a small platform on wheels. Later in life, I wondered if he was a disabled…
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Essay “Forget Me Not” on the Web About Leaving a Legacy
Sena found a great essay on leaving a legacy. It’s titled “Forget Me Not” written by Jonathan Clements and posted on the website HumbleDollar on February 17, 2024. I think it’s worth sharing. The comments are still coming in. One commenter (Newsboy) wrote the one below: “The late great author, Steven (sic) Covey, once suggested: “To…
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Black History Month: In Honor of James Alan McPherson
I thought it would be nice to mention James Alan McPherson, Pulitzer Prize winning author and longtime Iowa Writers’ Workshop faculty member, in keeping with the theme of this month’s Black History Month: African Americans and the Arts. A neighborhood park was named in his honor (James Alan McPherson Park) in 2021. There has been…
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“Our Hidden Conversations” is a Very Tough Book to Read
As I approach the end of the book “Our Hidden Conversations” by Michele Norris, I find myself doing what I often do when I feel uncomfortable emotionally. I start to deploy my sense of humor. As a psychiatrist (now retired since 2020), I learned early in my residency training that humor can be thought of…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 